Contingent Librarianship and Precarity: Rethinking Library Practices as Managers and Leaders

Abstract

Academic Library Workers in Conversation is a C&RL News series focused on elevating
the everyday conversations of library professionals. The wisdom of the watercooler has
long been heralded, but this series hopes to go further by minimizing barriers to traditional
publishing with an accessible format. Each of the topics in the series was proposed by the
authors, and the authors were given space to explore. This issue’s conversation connects
with the article in the September 2025 issue1 and continues the exploration of contingent
labor practices in libraries and precarity. This article explores how managers and leaders
can better support workers. - Dustin Fife, series editor